Ceramic from Gschel
Pottery from Gzhel ( Russian Гжельская керамика ) or often just Gzhel ( Гжель ) is a typical Russian ceramic that derives its name from the Gzhel area , one of the traditional Russian centers of pottery production. Various ceramics have been made in Gschel over the centuries. It started with stoneware , continued through majolica ceramics, semi-stoneware and faience and then from 1802 with the manufacture of porcelain.
A wide variety of ceramic vessels and other ceramic objects with different functions and sizes were made: flower vases, egg cups, thimbles, mantel clocks, carafes, salad bowls, salt shakers, jewelry boxes, soup bowls, plates, vodka jugs, sugar bowls and small human figures. But also bricks , clay pipes , porcelain tiles ( ceramic tiles ) and especially ceramic toys in the form of birds and predators were made in Gschel, as well as small porcelain sculptures - knickknacks and statuettes - and decorative figures: horses, riders, birds, dolls, miniature vessels.
The dishes and figures in the form of animals and figures from everyday life in Russia were initially painted in purple, yellow, blue and brown with plant motifs (flowers, leaves and grass) in a characteristic, folk style.
Only later were the artistically designed objects made of white glazed ceramic or white porcelain with a typical cobalt blue painting on a white background. The white background is white with a glaze on tin oxide produced which is applied to the ceramic.
Gschel village
The word gshel has several meanings. For one thing, it is the geographical name of an area sixty kilometers away from Moscow, which unites three dozen villages and a settlement of the same name. On the other hand, for art researchers, this word is associated with a whole direction in the history of Russian ceramics. It is also linked to the term shetsch (to burn), which has been used in pottery since ancient times, and it is entirely possible that the sound related proper name Gshel originates from this verb in a transformed form.
The area covered a large area, which consisted of 27 villages, which were united in the Association of Kust Gzhel (Russian Гжельский куст / Gschelski kust), 50 to 60 kilometers southeast of Moscow .
The Gzhelsky Kust is part of the Ramenskoye Rajon (Russian Раменский район ) of Moscow Oblast . Before the October Revolution (1917) the Ramenskoye Rajon belonged to the Ujesd Bogorodsk (Russian Богородский уезд , today's Noginsk ).
history
The first mention of the place Gschel can be found by Ivan I in a will from 1328.
Gschel was known early on for its occurrence of light clays , the mining of which began on a large scale in the middle of the 17th century. In 1663 Tsar Alexei Michailowitsch issued a ukase from Gzhel "to send clay suitable for the manufacture of pharmacist and alchemist's dishes" (pharmaceutical ceramics). At that time, 15 loads of clay for pharmacy needs were delivered from the Volost Gzhel (Russian Гжельская Волость / Gschelskaja Wolost) to Moscow and further regular deliveries were arranged. The clay was also delivered to the potters in Jauskaja Sloboda (Russian Яузская Слобода ) who made ceramics for Moscow. Extracting clay from the deep pits, which were often insufficiently secured, was the hardest part of the job. This work was done in winter when the ground was frozen.
Mainly for the needs of the nearby Moscow were to the middle of the 18th century mainly simple in Gzhel, usual for this time, earthenware, pottery , bricks , clay pipes , porcelain tile ( ceramic tile ), stove tiles and simple toy figures produced. Hundreds of thousands of ceramic toys were produced annually. During this time, the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonossow said benevolently that “nowhere in the world” had he seen - “except perhaps used for porcelain production” - purer and whiter clay than “our Gscheler”.
Afanasiew Grebenschtikow ( Афанасиев Гребенщиков ) had opened the first Russian manufacture for majolica ceramics in Moscow in 1724, the products of which were similar to the Delft faience . Many people from Gschel had worked as potters there and got to know the technological secrets of the new ceramic production. After their return to Gschel, they continued their craft there. They no longer only used the conventional red clay, as in Moscow, but also white clay masses with admixtures of other types of clay and minerals. The craftsmen were farmers who had to secure an additional livelihood with the craft. From Gzhel, ceramic production spread to other Ujesds in Moscow Oblast - e.g. B. Kolomna and Serpukhov .
In 1760 Gschel had 72 farms. Around 1770 and 1780 Gschel became the Russian production center for artistically designed majolica pieces (tobacco pipes, tiles, tableware and small sculptures) made of brightly colored enamelled clay. This is not exclusively blue and white like the typical Gschel ceramics, but is painted on a white background with blue, green, yellow and brown colors. In 1787 25 villages in the vicinity of Gschel had ceramic kilns. The colorfully painted majolica ceramic replaces the "black (simple) pottery" and the "glazed pottery" that had prevailed until then.
At the beginning of the 19th century, majolica was replaced by semi-faience. From around 1800, after the discovery of new, suitable, light-colored clay deposits in the villages of Minino (Russian Минино ) and Wolodino, they began producing semi-stoneware , semi- faience (mezzomajolika), faience and porcelain. The production of semi-stoneware began, from which large quantities of vats for preparing kvass were made.
In 1812 there were about two dozen villages in the surrounding area, called the "Gscheler Busch" (Gschelski Kust) and belonging to the Ujesden Bogorodsk and Bronnizy , 25 factories, the most famous of which were those of Jermil Ivanov and the Laptews in Kusjajewo Kusjaewo (Russian. Кузяево ) as well as the first porcelain factory of the Kulikov brothers. ( Johann Böttger and Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus had already found the recipe for the production of European porcelain in Saxony in 1707.) Towards the end of the 19th century, however, the artisanal production of porcelain in Gschel lost in the struggle with the industrial porcelain production and the ceramic works in Gschel had to close.
Around 1800 the brothers Kulikowi ( Куликовы ), farmers from the village of Volodino (Uesd Bronnizkowo) had found a composition for white faience masses. The first porcelain manufacturing company was founded there around 1810. Its founder, Pawel Kulikow ( Павел Куликов ), got to know porcelain production while working in the Otto company in the village of Perowo. Kulikov's company was the origin of porcelain production in Gschel. To keep his porcelain-making secret, Kulikow had done everything himself and only hired one employee. However, the potters GN Chrapunow and EG Gusjatnikow broke into his workshop, stole a clay sample and signed the construction of his kiln. Then they opened their own workshop.
Known master for Gzhel ceramic were Nikofor Semjonowitsch Gusjatnikow ( Никифор Семёнович Гусятников ), Ivan Nikiforowitsch Sposlej ( Иван Никифорович Срослей ) and Ivan Ivanovich Kokun ( Иван Иванович Кокун ).
Porcelain art experienced its heyday in Gschel around 1830/40. At that time strong colors predominated in the painting, flower ornaments were painted without a colored background. Rich cobalt and gold painting was also common.
From the second half of the 1820s, only dark blue paint was used. In an effort to produce thin faience and thin porcelain, the composition of the clay was constantly being experimented with to improve the clay. The second quarter of the 19th century marks the high point of Gschel ceramic art in all its forms; During this time about half of Russia's ceramic production came from Gzhel. After that, the ceramic factories in Gschel declined in the middle of the 19th century.
Towards the end of the century, the entire production was in the hands of the Kuznetsov family, who originally came from Gzhel. In 1810 the Kuznetsovs founded the first porcelain factory in Novo Charitonowo. Mikhail Pettrovich Kuznetsov (Russian Михаил Петрович Кузнецов ) had a small ceramic company in 1845 with 8 employees, in 1856 there were 11 employees. The company closed in 1876.
At the end of the 19th century, the ceramic arts and crafts in Gzhel experienced its almost complete decline, and after the October Revolution of 1917 the Kuznetsov factories were nationalized .
A revival of production on a large scale did not take place until the middle of the 20th century. In the 1950s, the art of porcelain production was first reanimated in Gschel. The initial intention to return to majolica was discarded for economic reasons, and so it was finally decided to make simple forms from thick-walled porcelain with cobalt blue underglaze painting - the white-blue ceramics known today as "Gscheler Keramik".
In the middle of the 20th century, the rebuilding of the ceramic craft began in Gschel, which recently celebrated its 670th anniversary in Gschl. In the 1930s and 1940s, almost half of the Russian porcelain factories were concentrated in Gschel. At the same time, electrical insulators were built there for the electrification of the Soviet Union .
From 1970 onwards, technical ceramics and consumer goods for everyday use were also made from ceramics in all Gschel ceramics factories. The ceramics factory in Turigino (Russian Турыгино ) continued the tradition of Gschel ceramics with deep blue colors on a white background during the Soviet era. Well-known artists of this company were NI Bassarabowa ( Н. И. Бессарабова ) and LP Azarowa ( Л. П. Азарова ).
In 1989, the "Sin Rossii Scientific Production Association" (Russian: "Научно-производственное объединение Синь России" ) was founded in Gschel in order to manually manufacture porcelain products in the tradition of Gschel ceramics.
Trademark
The name Gschel (Russian Гжель ) is derived from "brennen" (burning ceramics): "schgel" (Russian жгель ). Therefore, the ceramics from Gschel can bear the porcelain stamp "Gschel" or "Schgel" as a trademark.
"Жгель" ("schgel") is one of several companies or private companies that were established after 1991.
Porcelain brand from Schgel (Russian Жгель )
Porcelain brand from Gzhel (Russian Гжель )
Web links
- Gzhel pottery
- Pictures of Gschel ceramics: [1] , [2] , [3]
- Pictures of Gschel chimneys
- ussrfarfor